What’s The Cost Of Developing A Business Website With WordPress CMS

There are abundant options to develop a website, nowadays and the abundance may leave you baffled. The CMS applications are very popular in the web development sector, and the popularity is owing to their flexibility, ease of usage, and ample customization possibilities. There are several CMS platforms you can pick for developing your company website, but WordPress remains a top contender. It is a platform that has been chosen by some of the corporate giants and technology behemoths worldwide, but you have to think of site development cost too.

WordPress site development cost—getting the basics clear

If you are new to WP and want your brand site to be developed with the platform, you will think of the cost, naturally. It is hard to answer in a sentence what is the WordPress development cost! WordPress is an Open Source CMS, and that means you can use it without paying the licensing cost. While that holds true, several other factors come into the picture too. The overall pricing will depend on your usage needs-eventually. A WP site with many features and functionalities will cost much more to set up than a simple blogging site made in WP. 

A cost breakup guide for developing a business website with WP

When you want to develop a business website with WP, you have to think of the costs incurred in various aspects or sections of the site. 

• Plug-ins- This can be a tricky area. WP officially supports thousands of plug-ins. Some of these are free, while others come with a licensing fee. For a business website, you can pick from both categories, but it ultimately depends on your objectives. Not all brands will need the same type of plug-ins.

Some of the most popular premium plug-ins for WP are:

1. Beaver Builder-With it, you can make stunning landing pages for your brand website.
2. WPForms (Pro)-It streamlines the task of form building in your site.
3. SeedProd-It helps you display the maintenance mode page as the work on-site goes on.
4. WP Mail SMTP Pro –It helps enhance email delivery.
5. BackupBuddy- It enables automated WP backups.
6. OptinMonster- It aids in converting site visitors into leads. 
7. All in One SEO Pro- It helps enhance site SEO ranking.
8. MonsterInsights Pro- It is a tried and tested Google Analytics plug-in.
9. Sucuri Firewall- It is ideal for enhancing site security.

• Hosting- If you plan to design your brand website using WP, you really cannot evade paying the hosting cost. Without hosting, your WP site (or any site for that matter) can't be accessed by web users. Yes, free WP hosting services are there, but business site owners should not rely on these. The limitations can be bottlenecks both for the site owner and targeted users. 

Unless the site is hosted by a reliable service provider, the performance will go down, and so will the viewer count. The shared hosting services for WP come for cheap, but you will have to cope with limitations, including bandwidth limitations. Listed here are some of the popular WP hosting service providers:

1. A2 Hosting- It costs $35.60 for the 1st year.
2. SiteGround- It costs $47.40 for the 1st year.
3. BlueHost- It is a bit costlier, and you will have to pay approx $71.40.

Of course, you can opt for premium hosting services if your online business keeps on growing fast. Then your best option is opting for managed WordPress hosting. The top contenders in this segment are:

1. Kinsta- It costs $30 per month.
2. WP Engine- It costs $35 a month.

• Domain- Like any website, a WP-based website also requires a domain name to be hosted. There are a few web hosting providers that offer free domain names when you pay for their hosting services. However, in some other cases, you can buy a domain at extra costs. 

As a matter of fact, the domain cost can be affected by two factors.

1. Where you get a domain name registered.
2. What sort of domain extension you choose.

The most widely used domain extension, .com, may cost you $12 USD a year. However, for domain .io. the charges can be higher. So, you may have to pay approx. $50-60 a year to power your WP site for a year. 

Themes- Regardless of your business niche, you have to ensure your site looks enticing and the UI is smooth. For that, it is necessary to pick the right WP theme. Just like WP Plug-ins, the themes come in 2 flavors- free and paid. 

The free WP themes are quite nice, but you may opt for a premium theme as well. A standard paid WP theme may cost you approx $60. It may even cost you around $100.

• Developer's charges- This is the major factor affecting WP site development cost. You can hire a veteran WP development agency or hire WordPress developer based on your budget. However, the hourly rate can vary based on the expertise of the WP developer. It can hover between $10 and $60 per hour, and the region also plays a role here. 

If you hire a WP development agency, they may not charge you per hour. Such an agency will offer you a package for setting up the site, inclusive of theme, Plug-ins, and hosting, etc. This can be as high as $3000-$6000, based on your site needs and features included. 

Tips to keep your WP business website development costs within limits

While you can't evade spending when developing your business website using WordPress, it is certainly possible to keep the cost within a limit. Here are a few tips you can try in this regard.

The cost of plug-ins can vary a lot. Some of the plug-ins will cost you just $10, while there are others that cost more than $100. Try to analyze your usage needs before buying a plug-in. Also, look for similar plug-ins with lower price tags and go through their reviews online. 

Some WP plug-ins come in both free and paid versions, and this actually makes things easier for the users. At first, you can try the free version of such plug-ins. If you are happy with the performance, opt for the licensed version. 

1. If you have a limited budget and want a WP site for a start-up, spend cautiously. You can start with the most wanted plug-ins initially. Later you can add more. 
2. If you hire a WP development agency or freelance developer, keep some time for evaluation. Sometimes, outsourcing the site development can prove to be easy on the wallet. 
3. You may start with shared hosting and later, based on business growth-switch to costlier hosting plans. 

Summing it up

WordPress website development cost for businesses can vary on the number of elements you choose, as it is. From themes to plug-ins, you get both free and premium options, and sometimes opting for paid ones is more prudent. The hosting service charges can vary a lot as well. When choosing the developers or a custom WordPress company, careful evaluation helps in saving costs as well.